


Medium Just Coffee

by lemonoclefox



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-07
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2019-01-10 03:33:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12290313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemonoclefox/pseuds/lemonoclefox
Summary: Keith likes looking at a certain barista and he isn't really into coffee shops but he'll start for this guy.Aka, Keith has a crush and doesn't know what to do with it.





	Medium Just Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> I can't believe I'm finally writing klance, and I can't believe my first klance fic is a damn coffee shop AU. Oh well. This is short and sweet and stupid and I had a lot of fun with it, enjoy!

Keith doesn't do coffee shops. It's stupid and pointless to just _let_ yourself be overcharged for something you can make at home. Especially in college, how do people even afford this?

And yet here he is. He blames Allura. Ever since they sat and went over study notes at this place a few weeks ago, Keith has found himself inexplicably drawn back. Or maybe not so inexplicably. He'd be downright lying if he said the guy behind the counter wasn't part of the reason―or rather, the _whole_ reason. He's cute in a tall, lanky kind of way, smiles a lot, and something about him is just... appealing. Keith likes looking at him. That's about it, no harm in that.

That's not to say he doesn't feel a little silly when he ends up in line at the coffee shop, one morning, all alone. He has no excuse to be here, no one dragged him here. He's just... here.

There are three people ahead of him, as the coffee shop is pretty crowded at this time of day, but the line moves along rather quickly. The barista that Keith is―embarrassingly―here to get a glimpse of is taking orders, and judging by what Keith can hear, he does it while simply oozing charm. Keith swears the barista is _flirting_ with the girl in front, and it makes him feel simultaneously discouraged and annoyed.

Finally, it's Keith's turn.

"And what can I do for _you_?" the barista says when Keith reaches the counter, in a tone very similar to the one he just used with that girl. That alone makes Keith pause in surprise.

"Uh," he says, gaze flicking down to the guy's nametag; _Lance._ Keith looks back up, and Lance raises his eyebrows slightly. "Coffee."

"Sure," Lance says. "Feel free to specify what kind."

"Just coffee," Keith blurts.

"Just coffee?"

"Yeah," Keith says, before adding, "Medium."

"Sure thing," Lance says, apparently confused by the bluntness of it all, but accommodating nonetheless. He grabs a medium-sized paper cup and a felt tip pen. "Got a name to go with that medium just coffee?"

Keith hesitates for about half a second, for some reason.

"Keith," he says, and Lance nods, writing it on the cup.

"Well, Keith," he says, looking back up with a smile. "Your coffee will be ready in a sec."

Keith nods. The fact that this random, cute barista now knows his name shouldn't feel like a big deal.

 

The next time Keith comes back, Lance isn't working. It shouldn't be disappointing, but it is, and Keith even foregoes the overpriced coffee and just leave without buying one.

The time after that, Lance _is_ working, and Keith once again orders the same thing and gives his name, and Lance is just as friendly as the first time. It's better than nothing.

Almost a week after his first visit, Keith enters the coffee shop before a morning lecture, and notices that there's only one person in line. Not that he really lingers on that fact, because he then spots Lance behind the counter―and Lance sees him, too. The way his expression brightens with recognition makes Keith feel oddly nervous, and Lance leans against the counter as Keith approaches it, a smile on his face. It's weird; Keith admits he likes this greeting, but he also knows this guy is friendly with everyone.

"Just coffee?" Lance asks before Keith can even open his mouth. Keith lets out an awkward half-chuckle.

"Yeah," he says, glancing away a little sheepishly. "Thanks."

"Coming right up," Lance says, seemingly oblivious to Keith's self-consciousness. Keith taps the edge of the counter with his fingers while Lance gets a paper cup. Medium, just like last time, and the time before.

"Pretty boring order, I guess," Keith says, and Lance shrugs as he writes Keith's name on the cup. His name, which he _apparently remembers._ He remembers his order and his name.

"Actually, it's kind of nice," Lance says. "It's simple, not another matcha double-caramel latte moccachino."

Keith frowns.

"That's... That's not a thing, is it?" he asks, hoping he doesn't sound as stupid as he thinks. Lance looks up, pauses with the pen in mid-air with a thoughtful look on his face.

"You know," he says. "It wouldn't surprise me, if it was."

Keith breathes a laugh, and he swears Lance looks pleased.

 

It becomes something of a routine, after that. Keith goes to the damn coffee shop almost every morning, and almost every morning, Lance is there. They usually don't talk much, but Keith finds that he grows to like the guy more every time. He's maybe a little too self-assured in Keith's opinion, and what reason would a person have to smile all the time, anyway? But he finds even that charming, somehow. And even though Lance sort-of-flirts with everyone, by the looks of it, Keith does kind of enjoy having it directed at him. Because Lance is cute, and friendly, and makes lame jokes he somehow gets away with simply because he makes them so confidently―a skill which Keith enjoys as much as he envies.

Sometimes, Keith tells himself that maybe, just maybe, Lance would say yes if he wanted to hang out, sometime. Maybe.

 

"Why don't you just ask him?" Shiro says, sitting with Keith and waiting for their next lecture.

"Ask him what?" Keith says, frowning. Shiro shrugs.

"Ask him out."

"What?" Keith blurts, a little angrier than intended. He regrets ever mentioning his stupid infatuation with Lance, to Shiro. "I'm not― I'm not doing that. What the hell?"

"I just mean you seem to like him―" Shiro calmly says, before being interrupted.

"So?" Keith looks away, sips his coffee with that frown still on his face. "It's not like he'd say yes, anyway."

He feels stupid saying it out loud, like he's actually _worried_ about this. Which he isn't. At all.

"What makes you say that?" Shiro says. He doesn't sound judgmental, or surprised. His tone is just as big-brother wise as usual, and Keith hates it as much as he appreciates it.

Keith looks down at his coffee cup; next to his name is a crude drawing of what he assumes is himself, judging by the slightly exaggerated mullet. It's a terrible portrait, just a circle with eyes and a mouth, but he supposes it is kind of funny. Lance does seem to have a sense of humor, after all.

"I don't know," Keith says. "He just wouldn't."

"You _have_ noticed how he talks to you, right?" Shiro points out, having joined Keith to get coffee, recently.

"He talks like that to everyone," Keith snaps, a little self-consciously. "And I've tried, you know. To show him. That I'm... _into him_. Or whatever."

"And how's that been going for you?"

Keith doesn't even dignify that with a response, instead just gives Shiro a venomous glare. As always, Shiro is annoyingly immune to its effects.

"I don't know if he even likes guys," Keith mutters after a moment, looking back down. "I mean, what are the odds he would?"

"Pretty high, probably," Shiro says. "Considering he apparently mentioned an ex-boyfriend, the other day."

The stunned, pleased surprise at that information quickly gives way to confusion, and Keith frowns at his friend.

"And how do you know that?" he asks, eyes narrowed. Shiro makes a face that's the equivalent of a shrug.

"Call it 'recon'," he says.

"Have you been spying on my crush?" Keith says after a moment, ignoring how he just referred to Lance as his crush, out loud.

"I would never," Shiro says, as though genuinely offended. Then he looks straight ahead, with a slight cock of his head. "Allura would."

Keith groans, dragging hand down over his face.

"Oh my god," he says, suddenly exhausted.

"She worries about you," Shiro says defensively. "She knows you overthink, and she knows you like Lance."

"Because you told her," Keith retorts.

"You can't expect me to keep something like that from her, come on," Shiro says, matter-of-fact. Keith supposes he has a point; Allura is very hard to lie to, or keep anything from. He can't imagine it's any easier when you're dating her, like Shiro is. "And besides, she hasn't been _spying_ on him, she just talked to a girl he works with, who mentioned the boyfriend-thing. And when asked about Lance's preferences, she also said he doesn't care."

"What?" Keith says.

"He's bi," Shiro clarifies. "So yeah, I'd say you can drop that particular excuse."

Keith puts his hand over his face again, as though it will make this whole thing less embarrassing and just less _stupid._

"I can't believe you'd do this to me," he mutters.

" _For_ you," Shiro clarifies, a little too amusedly for Keith's taste. "And it's not like _you_ asked about it, Allura did." He leans in and lowers his voice to a conspiring tone. "Can't be traced back to you."

Keith throws him a glare, but Shiro just laughs, and Keith hates him.

 

_Just do it. Just get it over with._

Keith feels a hell of a lot more nervous than usual, when he steps inside the coffee shop. It's also a lot later than usual, late afternoon rather than morning, but that's a purely strategic choice. This way, there will be fewer people around to witness Keith's imminent humiliation, which makes this whole thing just slightly easier. Slightly.

The only person here is a customer at the register, and Keith can already hear Lance spreading on the usual, over-confident charm as he fills her order. Keith takes a deep breath, gets in line behind her, and wonders if it's too late to just give up on this whole thing, if he can just turn around and leave right now, and it―

"Keith." Lance's voice snaps Keith out of his thoughts, and he realizes that the girl has stepped aside to allow the next person in line to place their order. Lance both looks and sounds a little surprised, and Keith steps up to the counter.

"Hey," he says, very eloquently.

"Don't usually see you here past ten a.m.," Lance says. He leans his elbow against the counter, in an overly-suave gesture. "Taking a walk on the wild side?"

He wiggles his eyebrows, and Keith breathes a self-conscious laugh in response to the joke.

"Yeah, I guess," he says.  He feels like an idiot.

"Well, what can I get you?" Lance asks. Keith is acutely aware of the girl standing nearby, getting a lid for her paper cup and writing something on her phone.

"Uh," Keith says. "Coffee."

Lance presses his lips together, smiling.

"Not too wild, then," he says, grabbing a paper cup. He winks. "I gotcha."

The moment he turns away to make the coffee―he seems to be the only one working, right now―Keith closes his eyes and grits his teeth. It occurs to him that he didn't really plan what to say. He just planned to go here and ask Lance out, and that was it. And it's going great, so far. So great.

There's something soothing about an empty coffee shop, the machinery whirring softly as Lance prepares the drink, soft golden sunlight filtering in through the large windows. Lance looks nice, too. No different than usual, in his jeans and t-shirt and black apron, but maybe it's the fact that Keith can just unabashedly watch him for a minute, without the anxiety of getting caught.

Keith taps his fingers against the edge of the counter. On his left, he notices the girl walk away, finally. When he hears the front door open and close, he realizes that the place is now empty. At least for the moment, he and Lance are the only ones here.

Suddenly, he feels a little nauseous.

"Alright," Lance says, snapping Keith out of his thoughts. "One medium coffee―" he places the cup on the counter, along with a paper bag― "and a bagel, on the house, 'cause we're closing anyway and I've seen you eyeing them before, so―"

"You like movies?" Keith blurts, in a way so much more undignified than he was aiming for. He's pretty sure he didn't even mean to say it out loud, at least not like _that._

Lance is understandably surprised, and he just kind of freezes for a moment, hands stopped in mid-motion as he pouts slightly in thought. Thankfully, the silence doesn't last more than a second.

"As a matter fact," he eventually says, "I _do_ like movies."

"Me, too," Keith says, a little too quickly. _Shit_ , his face weirdly feels cold and hot at the same time. He should just walk out of here, _right now._

"Is that so?" Lance says. His surprise has already faded, and his tone is right back to the confident, slightly flirty one Keith is used to. Keith can't tell if that's a good or a bad thing, at the moment.

"Yeah," he says, managing to keep his voice somewhat steady. He swallows. _Why am I still standing here, making an ass of myself?_ "We, uh― We could maybe see a movie, sometime." Lance's expression changes, shaping into an amused, almost _charmed_ smile, as he leans his elbows against the counter and puts his chin in his hands. Like there's something about Keith's semi-rambling that's worth closely watching. Keith _hates_ it. And Lance looks _adorable._ "I mean, together. The two of us. Just... Yeah."

He trails off a little awkwardly at the end, absolutely mortified, but the tension is broken when Lance gasps softly, but dramatically.

"Keith Kogane," he says, scandalized. Keith half-regrets letting Lance see his ID to compare their photos that one time, because hearing his full name in this context makes it even worse. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

Keith is certain his face goes fully red. Or at the very least a dark shade of pink.

"Yes?" he says anyway, somehow turning the answer into a question, not having expected that comment from Lance at all. Come to think of it, nothing about this scenario is going as he expected, or planned. But screw it, there's no turning back now.

Lance's eyes narrow, that smile still on his face.

"Hmm," he says. "Took you long enough."

Keith just sputters, shocked out of his awkwardness as Lance pulls back and straightens where he stands.

"Wait, what?" Keith says.

"I've been flirting with you for weeks, you idiot," Lance says, with a kind of exasperation that's almost a bit too familiar in relation to the brief interactions they've had, so far. He gestures airily with his hand, glancing away. "I've been putting on my best charms, best smile, made excellent conversation―"

"You do that with everyone," Keith points out with a frown. He can't remember being so blunt with Lance before, but somehow it suddenly feels incredibly easy.

"No, I don't," Lance says defensively.

"Yeah, you do."

Lance seems to consider it, watching Keith almost suspiciously.

"Okay, well," he eventually says, folding his arms. He seems almost _awkward_ for a second, and Keith would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy that. "You're― Still. You should have asked me out sooner."

He adds it almost haughtily, and Keith hates how he finds it more endearing than annoying.

" _You_ could have asked _me_ out," he says, leaning forward and placing his hands against the counter.

"I would've," Lance counters, mirroring Keith and also leaning over the counter with his hands against the surface. "But I didn't even know if you liked me, and I didn't wanna get my ass kicked for assuming wrong."

"I've been in here almost _every day_ ," Keith incredulously points out, leaning in closer. Somehow, this is sounding more like an argument than a conversation. "Why would I do that if I didn't like you?"

"I don't know, man," Lance says, his voice going higher with the sarcasm. "People like coffee, coming in here every day _isn't weird._ "

"Then maybe you should have been clearer that _you_ liked _me_ ," Keith says. He can't believe he's even saying it out loud―Lance _likes_ him. Apparently.

"Well, maybe _you_ should try to look more approachable and less murder-y," Lance suggests with the same tone of voice. "Just in general. Don't get me wrong, it's hot, but come on."

"You―" Keith starts, but cuts himself off, instead presses his lips together. He can't think of anything to say to that; he's aware that his default expression has been referred to as a "resting bitch face" in the past. He also doesn't know what to say to that casual comment about him apparently being _hot._ Instead, he just glares at Lance, who glares right back, for a few seconds of silence.

It's then that Keith realizes how close together they are, just inches apart, really. Lance smells really nice, and he's got some faint freckles across his nose.

Lance notices the closeness too, judging by the way his gaze flicks to Keith's mouth and back up again, which somehow looks hilarious while he's still frowning.

"Do we kiss now?" Lance says, and he sounds just as irritated as he did a moment ago.

"No," Keith immediately replies, his tone unchanged, as well.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"I think you're lying."

"Just―" Keith cuts himself off with an annoyed sigh and pulls back, straightening, and folding his arms. He stubbornly looks away, but sees Lance stand back as well, out of the corner of his eye. "You wanna go on a date, or not?"

He sounds almost angry, and he's not sure why. He always somehow sounds angry. He hasn't been this annoyed about that in a while.

Thankfully, though, Lance is undeterred.

"Yes," he replies, with that same haughty annoyance as before. Keith turns back to him, almost suspiciously. He swallows.

"Well, can I have your number, then?" he asks, trying to dampen the harshness in his tone but only half-succeeding.

Lance meets his gaze, eyes narrowed. He looks down at the paper bag, then grabs his pen and writes something on the side. When he's done, his expression is a little softer than before, and Keith accepts the bagel bag and the coffee as Lance hands them to him.

"Sci-fi and action movies are my favorite," Lance says, trying to sound aloof but failing miserably. _God_ , that shouldn't be so adorable, and Keith kind of hates how just hearing it makes all his irritation melt away.

"Okay," he says. There's still some stubbornness in his tone, but Lance doesn't seem to mind. "I'll... I'll text you, I guess."

Lance nods. Keith holds his gaze for a few moments, before turning around and heading for the exit, bagel and coffee in the same hand. He walks quickly, but then stops dead just as he reaches the door. He takes a breath, exhales sharply, and turns back around, marching up to the counter with a kind of determination he simply could not do this without. Lance doesn't really have a chance to react, before Keith has leaned over the counter, grabbed the front of his t-shirt, and pulled him into a kiss.

Aside from the muffled sound of surprise against his lips, Keith senses no objection. Instead, the kiss melts into something warm and sweet and excited in a matter of moments, which some part of Keith wasn't expecting. He suddenly feels dizzy.

It doesn't last long, just long enough for Keith to feel Lance sigh into the kiss as he reciprocates. When Keith pulls away, Lance looks a little dazed, and Keith really shouldn't feel as pleased about that as he does. He just gives a nod, for lack of anything else, before turning back around and heading out the door.

Lance doesn't stop him, but when Keith glances back inside through the street-facing windows, he's pretty sure he sees a smile on the guy's face that rivals his own.

**Author's Note:**

> These nerds istg.
> 
> Visit me on [tumblr](http://lemonoclefox.tumblr.com) and [the twitters](http://twitter.com/lemonoclefox)! (and maybe treat me to a coffee of my own through the button I've got there? <3 that would be swell)


End file.
